Sopwith Sociable
Sopwith Aviation Company · United Kingdom · first flew 1914 · light aircraft
The Sopwith Sociable, also called the Churchill or Tweenie, was a British single-engined two-seat tractor biplane built by Sopwith for the Royal Naval Air Service.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 7.39 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Two-bay tractor biplane
- Crew seated side by side rather than in tandem
- Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine in the nose
It is a two-bay biplane with two crew seated side by side. The engine is a Gnome Monosoupape rotary.
Specifications
- The Sopwith Sociable has a length of 7.39 m (24 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 10.97 m (36 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 140 km/h (87 mph).
- Typical crew: 2.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
The Admiralty ordered it as a trainer and it was named for its side-by-side seating. It was given serial number 149 and first flew from Brooklands on 17 February 1914.
Variants
Only one was built, powered by a 100 hp Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine.
Where you'll see it
Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, flew in it as a passenger, which gave it the nickname Sopwith Churchill. It was later fitted with a bomb rack and went to No. 3 Squadron RNAS in Belgium, where it took part in an attempt to bomb a Zeppelin shed at Cologne on 22 September 1914.
Related aircraft
- Sopwith Gunbus
- Sopwith Schneider
- Sopwith 1½ Strutter
- Sopwith Baby
- AEG B.I
- AEG B.II
- Blackburn Type L
- Caproni Ca.25
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